Today will most likely be my favorite out of all of our programmed events in this course because of its focus on Zen and art. \u00a0The first activity of the day was a lecture by Professor Ludvik. \u00a0She told us the basic history of Zen and the founding of each sect, then instructed us about the layout of Zen temples, tea ceremony, and Zen paintings. \u00a0My favorite part of her lecture was when she discussed restoration of fusuma-e in temples versus incorporation of work from contemporary artists. \u00a0I was very moved by the work of Yuki Murabayashi, a young artist who is relatively unknown but who was commissioned by Taizo-in to make large paintings on their fusuma to replace older paintings that have been removed for preservation. \u00a0She had to undergo intensive Zen training for six months before she was even allowed to touch a paint brush, and she is still living on the temple grounds and has been working on this piece since 2011. \u00a0This is yet another example of the tradition of Kyoto blending with modern influences.<\/p>\n
After the lecture, we visited Daitoku-ji, which is a famous temple associated heavily with the tea master Sen no Rikyu. \u00a0Though the temple was so famous, there were very few people present on the complex. \u00a0For most of our stay I was able to walk alone, with no one else in sight and in complete silence. \u00a0It was refreshing and helped me appreciate the feeling of being in the place. \u00a0I also visited the garden at Daisen-in, which was beautiful, but smaller than I expected it to be based on pictures I had seen of it before. \u00a0I liked that you were able to go inside the hall at the garden too and view some of the statues and artwork. \u00a0Then we ate a fun and delicious vegetarian lunch at the temple.<\/p>\n
When we returned to Terminal Kyoto, we had the privilege of meeting Gakyu-san and hearing him talk about his work. \u00a0This was undoubtedly my favorite part of the day. I loved that he had studied fashion design and serendipitously became a sculptor after painting the robe of a Buddhist statue. \u00a0He trained intensively for 9 years without any prior experience sculpting. \u00a0But he said he had fun, even though he worked nonstop for 15 hours a day during that time. \u00a0He was able to tell us a bit about his process and showed us many of his works.<\/p>\n
I also liked Gakyu-san\u2019s response to CJ\u2019s question about the difference between craftsmen and artists. \u00a0Gakyu-san said that traditionally artists focus on expression while craftsmen focus on technique, but that now it is important for people to incorporate both to create things that are beautiful.<\/p>\n
Someday I would like to be like Gakyu-san, having a job that I love and doing something that speaks to my truth.<\/p>\n
After the end of our meeting with Gakyu-san, most of us went to a conveyer belt sushi restaurant. \u00a0Even though it\u2019s our fifth full day I still hadn\u2019t had proper Japanese sushi yet. \u00a0I was not disappointed. \u00a0The restaurant had a fun atmosphere and I was able to get a good variety of fish. \u00a0Tonight I\u2019m just resting and preparing for the final presentations. \u00a0Tomorrow we meet Amae Dairiku and learn more about Tea Ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today will most likely be my favorite out of all of our programmed events in this course because of its focus on Zen and art. \u00a0The first activity of the day was a lecture by Professor Ludvik. \u00a0She told us … Continue reading